March Madness is not confined to college basketball. Featherstone Gallery in Oak Bluffs is dedicating its month of madness to the arts. In particular, the art of Island students.

The series kicks off on Sunday, March 6 with a reception for Tova Katzman, a senior at the high school. The reception is from 4 to 6 p.m. and will feature Miss Katzman’s photography including digital, darkroom and video projects. There will also be pieces on display of work she did at the Art Institute of Chicago last summer.

Party in the Pews

Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, most likely conjures up images of celebrating decadence. From the beads and nearly-bare ladies on the balconies of New Orleans to the even more scantily clad bodies at the Rio de Janeiro Carnival parties, folks seem lit by a fire paralleling religious ecstasy.

Now add to that list the West Tisbury Congregational Church.

On Thursday, Feb. 17, I led the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation’s winter walk at the Phillips Preserve hoping to hear the great horned owls that nest nearby.

I have been happily emptying my pantry and freezer of last season’s produce. The pepper and eggplant mixture has been a great addition to the winter’s tomato sauces.

Maybe it is something that we should harp about. We wouldn’t be alone in our complaint.

Come early March, many people are up in arms because winter marks the seal hunting season. Norway, Russia, Canada andGreenland are countries that allow the hunting of gray, hooded and harp seals. There are those few that hunt for tradition, food and sustenance, including tribal Inuitpeople. Others hunt for commerce and profit.

The Trustees of Reservations announced this week that a major staff restructuring will take place around the management of their Vineyard properties with a shifting emphasis toward more staffing in the summer months and less year-round.

Legal Eagle

Todd J. Araujo has joined the law office of Baxter, Bruce and Sullivan in Juneau, Alaska as an associate attorney.

Mr. Araujo has served as deputy director for the Office of Tribal Justice in the U.S. Department of Justice and as a staff attorney for the National Indian Gaming Commission. He was the first court prosecutor for the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico and served on the Wampanoag Tribe’s Judicial Task Force.

Shark Bite

The Martha’s Vineyard Sharks continue to beef up their lineup.

Recently, they signed pitchers David Bergin and Noah Piard, third baseman Anthony Boix and outfielder Sam Munson, all from Tennessee Wesleyan College. Sean Ryan, an outfielder from Wheaton College, who previously played for Shark’s Coach Ted Currle at Norton High School in Massachusetts, has also come aboard.

Oak Bluffs voters agreed this week to slash the town’s 2011 budget by a quarter of a million dollars, wiping out a deficit that has frustrated town officials since the start of the new year.

“Here we are again,” said town administrator Michael Dutton at the opening of the special town meeting on Tuesday night before asking the voters to cut $249,666 from the town’s fiscal year 2011 budget.

A longstanding effort by the town of Edgartown to protect five ancient byways suffered a setback last week when a superior court judge sent a district of critical planning concern (DCPC) designation back to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for another review.

The five paths are Middle Line Road, Ben Tom’s Road, Pennywise Path, Watcha Path and Tar Kiln Road. Their use as cart paths and byways dates to Colonial times, and in 2007 the commission approved a town-sponsored initiative to designate them as special ways under the Island Road District DCPC.